Two men of two worlds
by deanpala
Summary: They are different, and have no hope of understanding each other. And in that fact, they both do. Fae au. Hyde is a changeling and Jekyll was the one replaced.


(Note: Jekylls name when he lives with the Fae is not Jekyll, it is Cuithchar Faogean. Sorry about the confusion.)

Edward was a strange child.

He was born beautiful and quiet and compliant, but when he turned three he became loud and difficult, with violent mood swings and tantrums, and a mouth that bites and screams but never asks for its parents.

There are other oddities about him besides what could be attributed to an angry child. One time a child who had made fun of him the day before was found missing from his bed but appeared in the forest lost, shaking, and afraid. It angered Edward greatly that he can not cause such trouble on demand. The other children learn that it is unwise to anger something powerful and they leave him alone and friendless.

He grows older, and he continues to cause trouble, but to a lesser extent. His parents and teachers learn that it is safer for all involved to let him entertain himself as he wishes.

Things get both better and worse when he discovers ancient magics an sciences. They consume his mind and soul and it worries all who know him that he is getting involved in the mad sciences. His parents reassure the church that despite his troublesome ways he has never lied or broke a promise and it keeps him to busy to cause trouble, and after months of struggling they managed to convince him to swear never to purposely hurt a human in testing.

He loves the world, loves being alive and studying nature.

He does not love that he is so alone.

"I wish they had kept me, if I must suffer so and have all know I am a freak" he says one day.

"But I would miss you." Says Rachel.

He drops the subject. He can never go home anyhow.

The human had always been quiet, or at least that's what he likes to think. The thought he had at least something that wasn't attributed to his life of servitude under the Fae. That it wasn't just trained into him.

Out of all the Fae one in particular took a liking to him. The others asked him to do tasks and of course he would because he's just a weak human, and he knew what they could do if he didn't listen. But this rather rambunctious, yet lazy trouble maker, called upon him more than anyone else and asked for little work. He taught him how to behave and act, and weaved fantastic stories of the human world for him. While Lanyon himself didn't care much for humans (outside entertainment of course) Cuithchar Faogean was always curious and wanting to know more. Magic and the supernatural brought him a unique amount of joy of course, but he had no connection to his roots.

One particular night, he had been forced to dance for hours until his feet bled and Lanyon decided that was enough.

"Go on, take it. It will let you go home."

"I'd love to I just- I won't be able to see or use magic as much will I?"

"No, but you won't have to work as much either."

"I- thank you. Thank you so, so, much."

"Of course."

"Will you visit?"

"Yes, on occasion though I can't say I'll be happy to be in the human world. Oh wait! I forgot, you must change your name. They have power, and we can find you if we have it. Besides, I don't think a human would name their child Cuithchar Faogean do you?"

"No of course not. How will you find me if I change it?"

"Because I can give it to you, or you can choose it yourself, then I and I alone will know it."

He thought for awhile, and whispered it in Lanyons ear.

And then, after years of imprisonment, Henry Jekyll finally returned to the human world.

Once, two amber eyed men ran into each other, one looking slightly mess and annoyed, the other wild and afraid.

They parted ways. It would be five years before they met again.

"Do you ever wonder what you're real child was like?"

Mrs. Hyde stopped her sewing for a moment.

"You are my real child. Whoever I gave birth to, I did not raise him, so it matters little."

"I think I ran into him today."

She went back to her work quietly

"That's nice dear."

Jekyll could not believe what he was seeing. The world was so bright, and fast, and loud, and no one gave him commands.

There was still a longing in his bones though for the magical and the strange. It was easy enough to deal with at first, but it started to sear his flesh, his very soul.

He had heard of a mad man who they said was a changeling. He figured if anyone had the answers it would be him.

"Do you ever feel out of place? Like you don't belong?"

"Everyday. This world was not meant for me."

"And I no longer belong."

They could never understand each other, and in that way they did. They were both Fae and human in their own ways and rights.

The two sat there and watched the stars in silence for hours.

In London there is a small little building for all the lost and curious. A building that was slightly larger on the inside than the out, and was run by two identical men, who had taught one another all that was known of magics and how rooftops and city streets were a forest all of there own.

They ran it well, one well versed in the proper ways to charm and persuade people, convincing them to listen to him every time, the other making crazy experiments and introducing other vagabonds to their home.

And if on occasion, something strange happened in the society, if people who tried to mess with it or shut it down mysteriously disappeared, if the garden had an out of bounds fairy ring, and a strange man came to visit on occasion, well, it was wiser to keep your thoughts on the subject to yourself, else your luck may suddenly sour.


End file.
